I wrote this poem several years ago as I reflected on the joy I have always felt from running, which has been for me a life-long endeavor. Running has taught me lessons about perseverance and potential I do not believe I could have learned any other way. So, with tongue firmly in cheek, I penned the following words to imagine a future where my running career would be admired and not forgotten. Besides, my wife Dallis just captured the perfect image during a recent race I entered on New Year’s Day 2015!

When I die

I’m thinking of donating my body
to medical research, though I haven’t signed
anything official yet. It’s not that I object to
the idea of decaying under a pile of dirt and leaves,
in fact it seems quite right—dust to dust,
ashes to ashes—the way it should be
if we are to give back to the material world
what it has given to us. But I figure that

if my body goes to science, then on some
perfect afternoon when the sun glimmers
through autumn leaves of red and gold,
pre-med students will huddle around
my cold preserved form with their sharp
utensils to explore what remains of me,
and one will say, “Look at this brain. He
clearly had an active mind.” Another will
comment, “See these shoulders. He must
have carried life’s burdens well.” Someone else
will observe, “His heart is quite big. Do you
suppose he felt compassion more than most?”
Another budding scholar will take the measure
of my arms and wonder, “Did he use these to
hold the ones he loved? Did he embrace life?”

Then someone will take one studied look
at my long sinewy legs
and remark in a way
that would make any cadaver smile,
“Damn! This guy was a runner!”

Words (c)2009 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c)2015 Dallis Day Richardson